Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster

Richard Óg de Burgh
Born	1259 Ireland
Died	29 July 1326(1326-07-29) Athassel Priory, near Cashel
Title	2nd Earl of Ulster
Tenure	1271-1326
Other titles	3rd Baron of Connaught
Nationality	Irish
Predecessor	Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster
Successor	Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster
Spouse(s)	Margaret
Parents	Walter de Burgh Aveline FitzJohn

Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster and 3rd Baron of Connaught (1259 – 29 July 1326), called The Red Earl and often named as Richard de Burgo, was one of the most powerful Irish nobles of the late 13th and early 14th centuries.

Early life

Richard's father was Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster (of the second creation) & Lord of Connacht., who was the second son of Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Lord of Connaught and Egidia de Lacy. "Richard Óg", means "Richard the Young", which may be a reference to his youth when he became earl in 1271, or to differentiate him from his grandfather, Richard Mór.

Earl of Ulster

Richard Óg was the most powerful of the de Burgh Earls of Ulster, succeeding his father in Ulster and Connacht upon reaching his majority in 1280. He was a friend of King Edward I of England, and ranked first among the Earls of Ireland. Richard married Margaret, the daughter of his cousin John de Burgh (also spelled de Borough) and Cecily Baillol. He pursued expansionist policies that often left him at odds with fellow Norman lords.

His daughter Elizabeth was to become the second wife of King Robert the Bruce of Scotland. However, this did not stop him leading his forces from Ireland to support England's King Edward I in his Scottish campaigns and when the forces of Edward Bruce invaded Ulster in 1315, the Earl led a force against him, but was beaten at Connor in Antrim. The invasion of Bruce and the uprising of Felim Ó Conchúir in Connacht left him virtually without authority in his lands, but Ó Conchúir was killed in 1316 at the Second Battle of Athenry, and he was able to recover Ulster after the defeat of Bruce at Faughart.

He died on 29 July 1326 at Athassel Priory, near Cashel, County Tipperary.

Children and family

• Aveline de Burgh (b. c. 1280), married John de Bermingham, 1st Earl of Louth
• Eleanor de Burgh (1282 – aft. August 1324), married Lord Thomas de Multon of Burghs-on-Sands
• Elizabeth de Burgh (c. 1284 – 26 October 1327), Queen consort of Scotland, married Robert the Bruce as his second wife, and was the mother of David II of Scotland
• Walter de Burgh (c. 1285–1304)
• John de Burgh (c. 1286 – 18 June 1313)
• Matilda de Burgh (c. 1288–1320), married Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford
• Thomas de Burgh (c. 1292–1316)
• Catherine de Burgh (c. 1296 – 1 November 1331), married Maurice Fitzgerald, 1st Earl of Desmond
• Edmond de Burgh (b. c. 1298)
• Joan de Burgh (c. 1300 – 23 April 1359), married firstly, Thomas FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Kildare, by whom she had issue, and secondly, Sir John Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Knayth, by whom she had issue, including Elizabeth Darcy who married James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond

Annalistic references

From the Annals of the Four Masters:

• M1303.8.A great army was led by the King of England into Scotland; and the Red Earl and many of the Irish and English went with a large fleet from Ireland to his assistance. On this occasion they took many cities, and gained sway over Scotland. Theobald Burke, the Earl's brother, died after his return from this expedition, on Christmas night, at Carrickfergus.
• M1304.2. The Countess, wife of Richard Burke, Earl of Ulster, i.e. the Red Earl, and Walter de Burgo, heir of the same Earl, died.
• M1305.2. The new castle of Inishowen was erected by the Red Earl.

Family tree

  Walter de Burgh of Burgh Castle, Norfolk.
 =Alice
  |
  |_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  |                                    |                                                |                              |
  |                                    |                                                |                              |
 William de Burgh, died 1205.    Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent, died 1243.  Geoffrey de Burgh, died 1228.  Thomas de Burgh
  |                                        (issue; John and Hubert)                          
  |____________________________________________________________________________
  |                                                                          |                                             
  |                                                                          |                                              
  Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Baron of Connaught                Richard Óge de Burgh    
  |                                                      (ancestor of Ulick Burke of Annaghkeen)
  |__________________________________________________________________
  |                                                               |
  |                                                               |
  Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster                William Óg de Burgh
  |                                                               |
  |                                                               |
  Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster          Edmond Albanach de Burgh
  |
  |___________________________________________________________________
  |                                                                 |
  |                                                                 |
  John de Burgh                                           Edmond de Burgh, 1298-1338.
  |                                                                 |    
  |                                                                 |_______________________
  William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster                         |                      |
  |                                                                 |                      |
  |                                                            Sir Richard, fl. 1387.   Sir David, fl. 1387.
  Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster                        |                  |
  |                                                                 |                      |
  |                                                      Burke of Castleconnell  Burke of Muskerryquirk 
  Philippa, 5th Countess of Ulster                       Burke of Brittas
  |                                          
  |
  Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March

References

•  
• Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis; Lines 73-30, 177B-8, 177B-9.
• The Tribes and customs of Hy-Many, John O'Donovan, 1843
• The Surnames of Ireland, Edward MacLysaght, Dublin, 1978.
• The Anglo-Normans in Co. Galway: the process of colonization, Patrick Holland, Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society, vol. 41,(1987–88)
• Excavation on the line of the medieval town defences of Loughrea, Co. Galway, J.G.A.& H.S., vol. 41, (1987–88)
• Anglo-Norman Galway; rectangular earthworks and moated sites, Patrick Holland, J.G.A. & H.S., vol. 46 (1993)
• Rindown Castle: a royal fortress in Co. Roscommon, Sheelagh Harbison, J.G.A. & H.S., vol. 47 (1995)
• The Anglo-Norman landscape in County Galway; land-holdings, castles and settlements, Patrick Holland, J.G.A.& H.S., vol. 49 (1997)
• Annals of Ulster at CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork
• Annals of Tigernach at CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork
• Revised edition of McCarthy's synchronisms at Trinity College Dublin.
• ,

Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Walter de Burgh	Earl of Ulster 1271–1326	Succeeded by William Donn de Burgh